A beloved Flatbush café known for reimagining Caribbean food is bringing its flavor back to one of New York’s most iconic cultural institutions.
Aunts et Uncles, the plant-based lifestyle shop and café from husband and wife duo Michael and Nicole Nicholas, relaunched their food truck pop-up at the Brooklyn Museum plaza last month — at once offering a fresh menu as well as the familiar sense of community that’s made them a mainstay in Little Caribbean.
“It’s amazing because we’re only like 10, 12 minutes away from the restaurant but it’s a whole other world,” said Michael Nicholas. “A lot of people don’t cross Eastern Parkway. A lot of people don’t cross Grand Army Plaza coming from that side of the park. So we’re able to provide that flavor in that moment of discovery for those who don’t come that deep into Brooklyn.”
Since opening in 2020, Aunts et Uncles has drawn crowds with its innovative, Caribbean-inspired dishes, like their sweet plantain and coconut waffles or jerk jackfruit sandwich — all completely plant-based — while still paying homage to the couple’s St. Lucian and Trinidadian roots. Their return to the Brooklyn Museum marks a major milestone: five years in the community.
“Sometimes in your life, you feel like you’re living in moments that you can’t believe you’re in,” Nicole Nicholas said. “It’s just an amazing feeling to be able to be here right in front of the museum. People from around the world just get to come and taste a piece of Aunts et Uncles and that’s special.”
That sense of pride is the foundation of their new Thrive Into Five campaign, a nod to the past half-decade of building community in Little Caribbean – not out of it. The goal is to raise funds so Aunts et Uncles can continue its commitment to be a cultural staple in the neighborhood. The donations will assist with a new kitchen and private dining space next door to its location on Nostrand Ave. It is also meant to help in the production of the restaurant’s own line of hot sauces as well as getting rid of debt incurred during the pandemic.
“When I think about the people that raised us and even our aunts and uncles that we’ve named the space after… it just feels like home,” Nicole Nicholas said. “It’s nice to hear all the different dialects, to be able to put all the different spices into our food. And when people come, especially from the Caribbean, they get to taste a little bit of their culture and our culture as a whole in the food.”
For customers like Cherith Burke, who has been frequenting Aunts et Uncles since it opened, it’s more than just a café — it’s a cultural hub where friends gather over plates of fried bake and hearts-of-palm “saltfish” or bowls filled with curry channa (chickpeas) and roasted geera sweet potatoes.
“One of the bowls feels like Sunday,” said Burke, referring to her Trinidadian background. “It has callaloo, ground provisions and some other things in there. And in the Trinidadian household, Sunday food would have callaloo, macaroni pie and a bunch of other things. So that bowl to me feels like home.”
Burke was also a frequent customer at the Aunts et Uncles food truck at the Brooklyn Museum last year. She’s excited it’s back.
“It just kind of extended the community to a different space but it still feels the same,” she said. “The menu is also slightly different so when you go there, you get a little bit more variety of things that you don’t get at the café.”
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Much of Aunts et Uncles’ approach challenges assumptions about what Caribbean food can be, especially since everything they make is without meat. But their spin is still deeply traditional — just with modern intention.
“I was able to introduce a new way or a different way of eating the things that we traditionally were born and raised eating but in a healthier way,” said Michael Nicholas. “The bake and saltfish — way less oil, way less salt, way less sodium, no crazy other ingredients. And it’s just clean. So it makes me feel good that people embrace it and understand it and rock with it.”
Still, the Nicholases are quick to clarify that their approach isn’t about labels. “We try not to use the term vegan because we’re not vegan,” said Michael Nicholas. “I wear leather sneakers… but [the food] is plant-based. And people are not sure what to expect, and when they get it, their minds are blown.”
Despite being plant-based, customers agree the food doesn’t compromise on flavor or texture.
“You don’t miss anything in terms of the taste. You don’t miss anything in terms of texture,” Burke adds. “I think they’re really creative in how they manipulate different things to fill in spaces or gaps of something that you might feel like you’re missing.”
The Aunts et Uncles truck is open Wednesday-Sunday at the Brooklyn Museum all summer and into the fall, giving longtime fans and curious newcomers a chance to experience what makes the food, and this family business, so special.
